The Debutante Ball Welcomes Gina Rosati!

We’re so pleased to welcome Gina Rosati, debut author of the recently released AURACLE!

Born and raised in Boston suburbia, Gina now lives with her husband and two children in Merrimack, NH. Gina is a long time volunteer at her local middle school library, and a member of SCBWI, the Apocalypsies and the Class of 2k12 debut author groups. Her YA paranormal debut, AURACLE, released August 7, 2012, from Roaring Brook Press.

AURACLE is a YA paranormal romance about an out-of-body experience gone terribly wrong. 16 year old Anna Rogan has a secret: she can astrally project out of her body, allowing her spirit to explore the world and the far reaches of the universe. When there’s an accident and Anna’s classmate Taylor takes over her body, what was an exhilarating distraction from her repressive life threatens to become a permanent state. Faced with a future of never aging, never being seen or heard or touched, Anna turns to her best friend, Rei, for help. (Note from Deb Joanne – this is a wonderful romantic suspense that both young adults and 40 somethings will enjoy.)

And now, for Gina’s guest post:

If you think that sitting alone at a computer writing all day would be a lonely job, I have great news for you … a writer is never really alone. Oh, sure, it may seem like we’re alone, but in no particular order, you can connect with ~

Characters – One of the best parts about writing is that I get to create my own friends, they do what I tell them to do, and if they give me any trouble, I can just kill them off. 😉 Writers get attached to our characters. At first I wondered if it was just me being a little weird, but other writers have told me their characters also wake them up at 4 am and send us scrambling in the dark for a pen and paper to scribble down their conversations.

The Internet – It’s a paradox. I often wonder how writers used to research before the internet was created (besides living at the library) because I am always toggling over to look something up. On the other hand, how often do I hit a wall and decide to take a Twitterbreak. How nice it would be without all that social media distraction, but alas, I’m not disciplined enough to turn it all off. And I know about internet blocking software (such as http://macfreedom.com/ ), but I’m not disciplined enough for that either.

Bloggers – The community of YA bloggers is 800+ strong, and they are a fantastic group of energetic, passionate, committed people who just want to share the love of books with others. In the process, they are doing authors the enormous favor of promoting our books. Thank you, bloggers!!

Literary Agent – My fairy godmother who rescued me from the slush pile and paved the way to a book contract.

Editor – My other fairy godmother who knows my characters as well as I do, and who can look at my story objectively and makes just the right suggestions.

Critique Groups – If you’d like to get feedback from your fellow writers, consider joining a critique group. Check with your local Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) group for a list of critique groups or ask your local library or indie bookstore if they know of any groups you could join.

Debut Writing Groups – As soon as I signed a contract, I joined the Class of 2k12 and The Apocalypsies debut writing groups. The difference between these two groups is that the Class of 2k groups charge a fee (currently under $300) which is used for promotional opportunities and in the case of Class of 2k12, the group was closed after 20 members, while the Apocalypsies is free and open to all until a certain date (around 160 members). Both groups offer incredible support and encouragement.

Writing Associations such as SCBWI, RWA – Professional writing associations are a great way for writers to connect with other writers and with readers – here is one list to get you started

Writer’s Conferences – here’s a website, grouped by state, to connect with people who are passionate about writing.

Librarians – If you are a writer and you’re not on a first name basis with your local librarian, please do yourself a favor and go introduce yourself. Your librarian is your best friend. S/he can help you with research, reading trends, connections, and in return, you can offer to talk to students/patrons about the writing process, donate books you no longer need or volunteer. Also consider joining ALA and YALSA.

Your local indie bookseller – While big box and online bookstores are great and have their place in the world, indie bookstores are a critical part of our communities. Often, you’ll find indie bookstores have a better selection of YA books than some of the big box stores because they have more individual control over what they stock. And indie bookstores are often very gracious about hosting their local authors and offering other events. Go introduce yourself. And show your support by buying a book or two while you’re there.

Writing haunts – Sometimes you just need to get away from the laundry and other distractions at home. Coffee shops, libraries and other public nooks and crannies with access to an electrical outlet and free wi-fi have been the breeding ground for many novels.

Family – If you ever feel lonely, just tell your husband and kids that you are going to sit down to write for an hour. Suddenly, they will forget how to fix themselves a snack, how to find their own socks, where the remote is, and they’ll all need hugs.

And of course, Readers! Without our readers, we feel like we’re just talking to ourselves! Connect with your readers on Goodreads

ZOMG! Look at this crowd! Still think writing is a lonely life?

Ha! Thanks, Gina! And don’t forget your friendly Debs-we’re always here to chat, too! If you want to learn more about Gina and AURACLE, check her out at:

Thanks for being with us today and offering up this AMAZING prize pack for one of our commenters (open internationally): A signed copy of AURACLE, an embellished bookmark and Swarovski crystal bracelet!

Just tell us who YOU turn to when you’re feeling lonely to be entered to win.

Thanks for being with us today, Gina! You know I’m a huge fan of AURACLE already, so I’m kind of bummed that I don’t qualify for the prize pack. These days, when I’m feeling lonely or isolated, I open up Tweetdeck (which is a hazard to writing-consider yourself warned) and see what everyone else is up to. I love that it’s easy to just jump into conversations or talk about what I had for lunch and just pop in and out as needed. I really don’t know how writers survived before the internet.

Like a lot of people, when I’m lonely, I turn to books (all kinds!) to get me through something tough or just into a better mood. Oftentimes, however, I prefer a book that makes me think what it would be like to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. That doesn’t always happen, sometimes it’s just about entertainment. That’s the best part really, because I will never complain about being entertained! I read so many different types of books and I’m always looking forward to the next one…this one!

Good morning, Gina! Wow, what a post! Thank you so much for highlighting so many wonderful resources for writers. It can, indeed, get lonely and you can feel very isolated. I know that is why I have been especially grateful for the Deb Ball and connecting with these wonderful ladies–as well as our awesome guests! 🙂

That prize pack is incredible–and I can tell you right now I will definitely be one of the 40-somethings Joanne mentioned who will be loving AURACLE!!! Congratulations to you!!!

This is such a great post. My favorite part was: “Characters – One of the best parts about writing is that I get to create my own friends, they do what I tell them to do, and if they give me any trouble, I can just kill them off.” It made me laugh, because it’s so true. Every writer gets so attached to their characters, it’s like they really are you friends. You’re book sounds amazing, by the way, I’m going to have to go buy it very soon. I love astral projection stories.

Me either! I used to talk on the phone all the time, but for the past few years, I’m not a big phone fan. And my son has dated the same girl for almost 5 years, and I don’t think they’ve had more than a dozen phone conversations. They text or IM or see each other in person.

Thanks for the awesome post! When I’m lonely I usually turn to my little. Usually all we do is talk through text, because she lives far away, but she always knows the right thing to say so I don’t feel quite so lonely anymore : ) If she’s not available, I can usually lose myself in a book, which isn’t as good as talking, but still helps a lot!!

Hi Ms. Rosati! Thanks for another awesome giveaway and more insight on your book!
When I am lonely, I turn to my sister Lily. We less than a year apart, and we share everything (especially our love of books!). Sometimes, when one of us couldn’t sleep, we would stay up at night and whisper to each other so that the other wouldn’t feel alone (we share a room). She’ll be going to college in two weeks, and I KNOW I’ll be lonely. Who will I turn to then?! I’m scared. It’s like losing something that’s been by me for 17 years. Sad thoughts… let’s think happy! Like, I would love to win this. Thanks so much, Ms. Rosati!

Congratulations, Alyssa!! I’m so excited you’ve won the Auracle prize pack! And I want to give you a great big hug because I know what it’s like when someone you love leaves for college – my son is heading off on Tuesday for his second year. He’s only 90 minutes away, so he comes home a lot, but I do miss him so when he’s gone!

Do you and your sister have Skype? My son even helps my daughter (she’s 13) with her math homework over Skype (he’s such a good big brother … most of the time 😉 And we call, text, email and comment on each other’s Facebook pages. And the good news is with college, there’s usually a long holiday break, then a winter break, then many colleges are out mid-May – I was really surprised by how fast the year went. Try Skyping though – it’s free, and we even set it up at the dinner table so Jerry could join us for dinner once.

I’ll send you an email to get your mailing address so I can send you all the Auracle stuffems :)))

Kristin and Ben tied the knot! They had a gorgeous wienddg that was made official at St. Joseph’s church in North Plainfield, NJ. They enjoyed their first hours together as husband and wife strolling around downtown Somerville where we captured beautiful pictures of them savoring this special time together.

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